Discussion
A few years a go to me, a tyre was a tyre but now I spend too much time on forums so I make sure the cars in my household have at least entry level branded tyres on and anyone who doesnt, I tut and shake my head at 
In all seriousness though, they kind of are the only parts of the car in contact with the ground. Tyres are good value over their life, people who moan about how expensive they are annoy me somewhat. I cringe when I hear someone ask or choose a budget tyre too, maybe they'd understand if you told them that they're using supermarket value brands as part of the safety items for their dear childrens transportation etc. Perfectly serviceable but I'd prefer something a little better if I could help it.
My OH's yaris cost £200 for a full set of acceptable Toyo T1R's, I was over the moon at the cost.
All these cheapy tyres are probably fine for just wandering around town, it's when every corner has a different unknown brand that I get worried.
In all seriousness though, they kind of are the only parts of the car in contact with the ground. Tyres are good value over their life, people who moan about how expensive they are annoy me somewhat. I cringe when I hear someone ask or choose a budget tyre too, maybe they'd understand if you told them that they're using supermarket value brands as part of the safety items for their dear childrens transportation etc. Perfectly serviceable but I'd prefer something a little better if I could help it.
My OH's yaris cost £200 for a full set of acceptable Toyo T1R's, I was over the moon at the cost.
All these cheapy tyres are probably fine for just wandering around town, it's when every corner has a different unknown brand that I get worried.
MysteryLemon said:
TurboHatchback said:
- My Clio 182 had Nexens on it, they were hopeless. Replacing with a set of Michelin Pilot sport 3s completely transformed the car
Most people aren't aware there is any difference, to them a tyre is a tyre and so long as it's round and black they're happy hence why the majority of used cars in Britain have budget tyres on them. To them it's probably like buying washing powder or something to me, I'm not aware of any difference in performance and I don't care what the brand is so I buy the cheapest there is. It does me fine, I have no high performance washing needs and I save money overall.
TurboHatchback said:
MysteryLemon said:
TurboHatchback said:
- My Clio 182 had Nexens on it, they were hopeless. Replacing with a set of Michelin Pilot sport 3s completely transformed the car
Most people aren't aware there is any difference, to them a tyre is a tyre and so long as it's round and black they're happy hence why the majority of used cars in Britain have budget tyres on them. To them it's probably like buying washing powder or something to me, I'm not aware of any difference in performance and I don't care what the brand is so I buy the cheapest there is. It does me fine, I have no high performance washing needs and I save money overall.
I suppose you've all got figures showing how many accidents are caused as a direct result of fitment of budget tyres? Which would obviously back up all of this chat about how 'unsafe' they are...
I choose to fit 4x matching Pirellis to my car, but I don't look down my nose at someone who couldn't give two hoots about their brand of tyre.
Dave200 said:
TurboHatchback said:
MysteryLemon said:
TurboHatchback said:
- My Clio 182 had Nexens on it, they were hopeless. Replacing with a set of Michelin Pilot sport 3s completely transformed the car
Most people aren't aware there is any difference, to them a tyre is a tyre and so long as it's round and black they're happy hence why the majority of used cars in Britain have budget tyres on them. To them it's probably like buying washing powder or something to me, I'm not aware of any difference in performance and I don't care what the brand is so I buy the cheapest there is. It does me fine, I have no high performance washing needs and I save money overall.
I suppose you've all got figures showing how many accidents are caused as a direct result of fitment of budget tyres? Which would obviously back up all of this chat about how 'unsafe' they are...
I choose to fit 4x matching Pirellis to my car, but I don't look down my nose at someone who couldn't give two hoots about their brand of tyre.
As stated earlier my current car has on tyres which can be bought for ~£50 (in 245/40R18
). Whilst they compare unfavourably against good tyres they are not bad enough for me to warrant throwing them away and I haven't been killed once yet. I'd rather buy a car with fairly well worn but quality tyres as I can also use them as an indicator or wear issues. Brand new cheap tyres are a turn off and may be hiding something. Overall though the brand and condition of tyres is surely only a small consideration in any car purchase (unless only spending a few hundred quid).
wildcat45 said:
I have quality tyres on my cars. One still on its factory rubber, the other on tyres reccomended by the owners club.
What I don't understand - and I would love it to be explained to me - is how it is possible in the UK, or even the EU, to buy new dangerous tyres.
If I go to buy a kettle, electric razor, sofa, washing machine etc etc, I know it has to be safe, to meet basic standards with things like a CE mark.
I know that's a guarantee of safety, but it's a fair indication.
So how when tyres are so important to safety can I buy dangerous tyres here from reputable companies?
Because low quality tyres aren't necessarily dangerous. It's all about the balance of risk. What I don't understand - and I would love it to be explained to me - is how it is possible in the UK, or even the EU, to buy new dangerous tyres.
If I go to buy a kettle, electric razor, sofa, washing machine etc etc, I know it has to be safe, to meet basic standards with things like a CE mark.
I know that's a guarantee of safety, but it's a fair indication.
So how when tyres are so important to safety can I buy dangerous tyres here from reputable companies?
If the EU wanted to reduce risk, but increase cost, it would make things like active braking compulsory. However, that would add thousands to the cost of a budget car, and would probably have only a small impact on death/iinjury rate.
Budget tyres will provide the minimal performance needed to keep a car on the road, without catastrophic failure or implosion. But they won't perform as well in extreme conditions or near the performance limit of many cars.
Daston said:
I have some very interesting rears on the RX7, they seem to be made of solid granite or something. They are ok in the dry but in the wet they are uhhh "fun" I don't think I have driven anything so tail happy you really have to be wide awake.
They will be changed asap.
Haha, RX7.They will be changed asap.
Keep the tyres, change the car!
Just kidding but any RX7 I have driven seemed to be ridiculously tail happy. Self adhesives are recommended!
wildcat45 said:
What I don't understand - and I would love it to be explained to me - is how it is possible in the UK, or even the EU, to buy new dangerous tyres.
Providing the tyres are indeed new (ie. not been sitting in storage for 6 plus years) and have been imported through proper channels, which you can rest assured all of the large visibility internet suppliers do, then the answer is there are no unsafe tyres. Even remoulds have strict EU quality control checks applied to them (which are more stringent than those which apply to new tyres, for obvious reasons) before they are allowed on sale.If there were any truly unsafe tyres we would know all about it as the publicity opportunities for rival manufacturers would be immense, not to mention the legal proceedings. That obvious fact won't stop people applying non-scientific subjective negative judgement to products they have never owned, based on prejudice and experience of an entirely unrelated product they tried anything up to 30 years ago, or more likely on the hear-say of others.
People will now trot out the results of various tyre tests to try and prove I am wrong, but there are innumerable threads already in here where these are discussed and the point is made that the tests are neither objective nor conclusive as different tyres will perform better or worse on different vehicles based on other factors such as suspension set-up/geometry and brakes, or even the type of surface that the tests are conducted on and the ambient temperatures. All the tests tell us is the relative performance of the tyres on the particular test vehicle on the particular test track on a particular day.
Edited by r11co on Friday 24th April 08:50
r11co said:
Providing the tyres are indeed new (ie. not been sitting in storage for 6 plus years) and have been imported through proper channels, which you can rest assured all of the large visibility internet suppliers do, then the answer is there are no unsafe tyres. Even remoulds have strict EU quality control checks applied to them (which are more rigid than new tyres, for obvious reasons) before they are allowed on sale.
If there were any truly unsafe tyres we would know all about it as the publicity opportunities for rival manufacturers would be immense, not to mention the legal proceedings. That obvious fact won't stop people applying non-scientific subjective negative judgement to products they have never owned, based on prejudice and experience of an entirely unrelated product they tried maybe 2 decades ago, or more likely on the hear-say of others.
People will now trot out the results of various tyre tests to try and prove I am wrong, but there are innumerable threads already in here where these are discussed and the point is made that the tests are neither objective nor conclusive as different tyres will perform better or worse on different vehicles based on other factors such as suspension set-up/geometry and brakes, or even the type of surface that the tests are conducted on and the ambient temperatures. All the tests tell us is the relative performance of the tyres on the particular test vehicle on the particular test track on a particular day.
You sound like someone who puts cheap tyres on their cars.If there were any truly unsafe tyres we would know all about it as the publicity opportunities for rival manufacturers would be immense, not to mention the legal proceedings. That obvious fact won't stop people applying non-scientific subjective negative judgement to products they have never owned, based on prejudice and experience of an entirely unrelated product they tried maybe 2 decades ago, or more likely on the hear-say of others.
People will now trot out the results of various tyre tests to try and prove I am wrong, but there are innumerable threads already in here where these are discussed and the point is made that the tests are neither objective nor conclusive as different tyres will perform better or worse on different vehicles based on other factors such as suspension set-up/geometry and brakes, or even the type of surface that the tests are conducted on and the ambient temperatures. All the tests tell us is the relative performance of the tyres on the particular test vehicle on the particular test track on a particular day.
Edited by r11co on Friday 24th April 07:38
I recently bought an Ignis Sport, fitted with "Talon Triangle" tyres. Round ones would have been better no doubt, arf arf etc......
Anyway, I digress. They all had even wear and many, many mm of tread left on them, and last week we were scheduled to head up to Wales for a long weekend exploiting the excellent roads and scenery. I was in two minds whether to get them changed for something a little less obscure/cheap/undoubtedly deadly (delete as appropriate) before we went, but then thought I'd give them a chance; worst case scenario if they were really awful I could just pull into a KwikFit/F1/National somewhere en route and buy some new ones.
I was pleasantly surprised to discover that actually they were pretty decent; excellent grip under some very spirited driving conditions, no skidding under heavy braking and good performance on some pretty varied road surfaces. The caveat to all of this of course being that I was driving a very light car in totally dry conditions. I've yet to experience their wet performance, and on a heavier vehicle they may not have coped quite as well.....
Anyway, I digress. They all had even wear and many, many mm of tread left on them, and last week we were scheduled to head up to Wales for a long weekend exploiting the excellent roads and scenery. I was in two minds whether to get them changed for something a little less obscure/cheap/undoubtedly deadly (delete as appropriate) before we went, but then thought I'd give them a chance; worst case scenario if they were really awful I could just pull into a KwikFit/F1/National somewhere en route and buy some new ones.
I was pleasantly surprised to discover that actually they were pretty decent; excellent grip under some very spirited driving conditions, no skidding under heavy braking and good performance on some pretty varied road surfaces. The caveat to all of this of course being that I was driving a very light car in totally dry conditions. I've yet to experience their wet performance, and on a heavier vehicle they may not have coped quite as well.....
r11co said:
All the tests tell us is the relative performance of the tyres on the particular test vehicle on the particular test track on a particular day.
Um yeah, that's called a controlled test environment. It's how everything should be tested.Edited by r11co on Friday 24th April 08:50
If you won't accept the difference between a good tyre and a bad tyre is you stopping 1cm short, or stopping 2 metres too late then you're completely ignorant.
That's not to say the latter is 'unsafe', but there is a greater risk associated, and you should be aware of the fact when counting the pennies on tyres.
Interesting thread... Each one can use whatever they like. And probably any tire will work for normal driving.
The difference is that in wet conditions better tyres will perform better because of their design and rubber compounds used. I see tyres with a different light, for me tyres last around 2 to 3 years depending on driving, the cost of a good set of tyres can be say £400-£600, if you spread that for 3 years so that is £17 a month... Lots of people spend that everyother day on pints. It's a false economy in my view, I certainly wouldn't have my wife and son been driven on cheap tyres, if they had an accident in a wet road and injured themselves I wouldn't forgive myself, for the sake of £20 quid a month???
Again this is my opinion and it is irrelevant for others but that is my line of thought. Off course you can spend much more on high performance cars but £400-600 should buy a decent high quality set.
Anyway you can make your own choice, I made mine and have no regrets, also I don't scrimp in car maintenance for those reasons too. A local MOT centre to,d me that lots of boy racers in their Saxons come up with the same wheels/tires from a mate just to pass the mot and then go with balls tyres, etc,etc.... I hope then don't loose control of their cars and hit me and my family killing us all....
The difference is that in wet conditions better tyres will perform better because of their design and rubber compounds used. I see tyres with a different light, for me tyres last around 2 to 3 years depending on driving, the cost of a good set of tyres can be say £400-£600, if you spread that for 3 years so that is £17 a month... Lots of people spend that everyother day on pints. It's a false economy in my view, I certainly wouldn't have my wife and son been driven on cheap tyres, if they had an accident in a wet road and injured themselves I wouldn't forgive myself, for the sake of £20 quid a month???
Again this is my opinion and it is irrelevant for others but that is my line of thought. Off course you can spend much more on high performance cars but £400-600 should buy a decent high quality set.
Anyway you can make your own choice, I made mine and have no regrets, also I don't scrimp in car maintenance for those reasons too. A local MOT centre to,d me that lots of boy racers in their Saxons come up with the same wheels/tires from a mate just to pass the mot and then go with balls tyres, etc,etc.... I hope then don't loose control of their cars and hit me and my family killing us all....
Cannot get over why people put cheap budget tyres on performance cars. The 182 I bought has some no-name Chinese junk tyres on it, It will be getting some PS3's or Pzero's very soon. The BMW X3 we bought had 3 Chinese tyres and 1 Yokohama SNOW tyre on it, replaced with 4 Bridgestone RE040's the first day we owned it.
I'll confess that shortly before i sold my v6 4motion golf, on 18's, it needed an MOT and I put 4 budget nexen tyres on.
They were around 42 quid a corner fitted which as I was selling, was awesome.
Yes some people may see them and be put off - I would be normally - but I have to be honest, they were really rather good. Very grippy, good in the wet. Alright the 4wd probably helps.....
I don't know if they've moved on from years ago - I had some put on my first car as a skint teenager and they were rubbish.
They were around 42 quid a corner fitted which as I was selling, was awesome.
Yes some people may see them and be put off - I would be normally - but I have to be honest, they were really rather good. Very grippy, good in the wet. Alright the 4wd probably helps.....
I don't know if they've moved on from years ago - I had some put on my first car as a skint teenager and they were rubbish.
Bit of a cliche but the rubber is the only thing keeping you on the road so no, I don't skimp.
I've had a couple of surreal conversations when I've tried local places for tyres where they almost don't seem prepared for people to be bothered to ask which exact tyre they're quoting on - a bit of a rinse and repeat of "They're Michelins" "Which ones?" "Michelins" "Yes but which model?" "Michelins".. you get the idea.
I've had a couple of surreal conversations when I've tried local places for tyres where they almost don't seem prepared for people to be bothered to ask which exact tyre they're quoting on - a bit of a rinse and repeat of "They're Michelins" "Which ones?" "Michelins" "Yes but which model?" "Michelins".. you get the idea.
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